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Harper in MVP form, Ichiro homers at Safeco Field

Bryce Harper continued his fine form as the Washington Nationals eased past the Atlanta Braves, while it was a memorable Safeco Field finale for Ichiro Suzuki.

Harper - the MLB MVP in 2015 - posted a four-hit effort to lead the Nationals to a 14-4 win over the Braves on Wednesday.

He also added two home runs - including his third-career grand slam - five RBIs, three runs scored and a walk.

Harper is slashing .404/.516/.846 with six home runs and 18 RBIs so far this year. This was his second multi-home run/five-RBI performance of the season.

In his potential final at-bat at Safeco Field, Ichiro homered in the Miami Marlins' 10-5 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Former Mariners star Ichiro, 43, hit a home run in the ninth inning of Miami's defeat on the road - his first homer since April 2012.

The struggling Toronto Blue Jays blanked the Boston Red Sox 3-0, the St Louis Cardinals edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1, the Chicago Cubs were too good for the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4, the Texas Rangers were humbled 9-1 by the Oakland Athletics, the New York Yankees topped the Chicago White Sox by the same scoreline and the Tampa Bay Rays overcame the Detroit Tigers 8-7.

Elsewhere, the New York Mets were 5-4 winners against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Baltimore Orioles shut out the Cincinnati Reds 2-0, the Los Angeles Angels lost 5-1 to the Houston Astros, the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 2-0, the San Diego Padres trumped the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-2, while the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins was postponed.

YELICH AND STANTON STAR

Marlins stars Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton both had monster games in a loss to the Mariners. Yelich, who has been on fire this week, went three for five with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Stanton went three for three with a solo home run and two walks.

Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler broke out of his massive slump by collecting three hits with two solo home runs in a win over the Pirates. Fowler is still hitting just .183 this season.

Royals starting pitcher Jason Vargas continued his electric form while out-duelling Madison Bumgarner. Vargas tossed seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He is now 3-0 with a 0.44 ERA this season.

Aaron Judge is strong, like really strong. The outfielder crushed another deep home run (448 feet) in a win over the White Sox. Judge, who now has five home runs on the season, went two for three with two runs scored, a solo home run and a walk in the win.

BETTS' STREAK ENDS AT 129

Mookie Betts entered Wednesday in the midst of an incredible streak of consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout. Unfortunately, his streak ended at 129 during the fourth inning of a loss against the Blue Jays.

RUSSELL HOMER LIFTS CUBS

Addison Russell saved the Cubs with a walk off three-run homer. He finished the win with two hits, a home run, four RBIs and a stolen base.

Chris Sale (1-1, 1.25 ERA) has looked excellent in his first three starts. He has already racked up 29 strikeouts in more than 21 innings, while walking just five batters. The Blue Jays have been struggling with injuries and offseason loses, but they have won two of their last four games to show some semblance of form heading into Thursday.